During the Thursday night debate between Donald Trump and incumbent Joe Biden, the incumbent president made a controversial claim about the nature of American voters supporting the former president. According to Biden, MAGA Republicans casting their ballot for Trump are voting against “Democracy.”
CNN’s Jake Taper, who was charged with moderating the debate, asked President Biden if he believed that the “tens of millions of Americans who are likely to vote for President Trump will be voting against American democracy?” Biden answered, “Yes,” touting the common criticism from the left that Trump is a threat to American politics.
“The more they know about what he’s done, yes,” he said. Biden further suggested that Trump will continue to face more legal challenges, which conservatives have blasted as the weaponization of the judicial system to attack a political opponent.
“There’s a lot more coming,” Biden continued. “[Trump’s] got a lot of cases down the road, coming around. He’s got a whole range of issues he has to face.” The president explained that while he can’t predict what the juries will rule, he thinks Trump is faced with a “real problem.” Biden said, “I don’t know what the juries will do, but I do know he has a real problem.”
As liberal supporters of Biden acknowledged, the first presidential debate turned out to be a disaster for the President. It is almost unanimously agreed that Trump won the debate, and Biden displayed an undeniable lack of stamina and energy.
In light of his concerning performance, Biden has reportedly sparked conversations among high-ranking Democrats about whether Biden should be replaced before the election. However, CNN Senior White House correspondent Kayla Tausche reported that Biden would not drop out of the race and would participate in the next scheduled debate with Trump. “NEW, as just reported on @CNN: Not only does @POTUS not plan to drop out, Biden remains committed to a second debate in September, an adviser tells me,” Tausche shared on X.
Following the debate, Biden appeared to acknowledge his lacking performance at the debate during a subsequent rally in Raleigh, North Carolina. Biden said, ”I don’t debate as well as I used to,” but added, “I know how to do this job. I know how to get things done.”
At other points during the North Carolina rally, Biden doubled down on his claims that a Trump presidency would threaten Democracy as we know it. “The choice in this election is simple,” Biden continued. “Donald Trump will destroy our democracy. I will defend it.”
In the aftermath of the first debate, former President Barrack Obama spoke out in defense of Biden. On the 2012 campaign trail, Obama had an infamously poor performance against Republican challenger Mitt Romney during their first debate, which he alluded to in the post.
Obama wrote on X, “Bad debate nights happen. Trust me, I know. But this election is still a choice between someone who has fought for ordinary folks his entire life and someone who only cares about himself. Between someone who tells the truth; who knows right from wrong and will give it to the American people straight — and someone who lies through his teeth for his own benefit. Last night didn’t change that, and it’s why so much is at stake in November.”
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